Democratic Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock claimed on X that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency closed five social security offices in Georgia spreading fear among beneficiaries while Warnock said he would fight the decision with every tool he has. “Let’s call this what it is: An intentional attempt to stop folks from claiming benefits they’ve EARNED. I will fight this,” Warnock wrote.
The post came as there’s already a lot of apprehension over Elon Musk’s interference in Social Security payments as he called them ‘entitlement’ though a clarification later said that he meant called the fraud in Social Security payments entitlements.
DOGE reacted to Warnock’s post and clarified that Social Security is not closing any field sites in Georgia or elsewhere. “The confusion likely arises from the closure of 5 permanent remote hearing sites (PRSs)—single rooms within field sites used for hearings. “Since most hearings are now virtual, these PRSs are unnecessary. Field sites remain open, and Social Security has no plans to close any public-facing sites nationwide,” DOGE said.
DOGE website, however, has a lot of site offices mentioned as eligible for shutdown, AP reported. The Associated Press has obtained an internal planning document from the General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, which shows when nearly two-thirds of those cancellations are expected to go into effect, it said.
“The offices are closing despite a new requirement that tighter identity-proofing measures be put in place to prevent fraud and abuse. These steps will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with agency employees over the phone,” the AP report said.
Court order on limiting DOGE in SSA affairs
A recent court order has blocked all activities by DOGE in SSA but the order could delay payments to beneficiaries as anyone can be termed asa DOGE affiliate, acting Social Security commissioner Leland Dudek said. “My anti-fraud team would be DOGE affiliates. My IT staff would be DOGE affiliates,” Dudek said. “As it stands, I will follow it exactly and terminate access by all SSA employees to our IT systems.”
